Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-07-15
WORK OF RAILROAD CLERKS.
Labor Which Requires Constant and
Long Continued Attention.

Labor Nhleh Requires Constant and
Long Continued Attention.
Considering the amount of work done
by railroad clerks the constant attention,
long hours and responsibility, they are
without doubt the worst paid and most
dependent of employees. Railroad clerks
wages range from $50 month upward.
K man who has $50 or $40 a month is
considered in good circumstances. They
are, as rule, sober, steady, industrious
lot, the majority, perhaps, being married
men, and with such meager wages bring
ing up families respectfully.
Receiving clerks get from 500 to $50 a
month, and are supposed to have the
easiest places among the clerks. Their
day begins at Z a. m. and ends as soon
after 4 as they can finish receiving. They
must have a thorough knowledge of the
road and it's connections and all the terri
tory covered by it, and extreme accuracy
is required Of them, as they are held re-
sponsible for any errors or shortages which
may arise. 1t sometimes happens that
they have to try conclusions, and give or
take licking from a truck driver who
considers himself aggrieved, or who has
tried the clerks patience beyond endur-
ance limits. The receiving clerk signs the
receipt, which is given back to the driver,
and the duplicate thereof, which he re-
tains, thus identifying himself with the
receipt of the goods and shouldering the
responsibility for the quantity, condition
and correctness of the shipment. The
duplicate is passed with the goods to the
checker, whose duty it is to compare the
marking of the goods with the written in
structions of the duplicate, note thereon
the weight the number of the car in which
the goods are loaded, and sign it, thus as
it were indorsing the receiving clerk as to
quantity and correctness of address. The
checker must be very quick of eye and
rapid to select the duplicate required from
among perhaps 100 held between his
fingers. The checkers day begins at a..
m. and ends when the last of the goods to
be shipped are put into the car. This not
infrequently is far into the night Dur
ing a busy season fourteen and fifteen
hours day is not at all unusual, and for
this overtime, as it is called, no allowance
is made, and the checker, having worked
until perhaps midnight or later, is eX-
pected to be at his work on time in the
morning. Freight checkers get about $50
month.
The duplicate, with the weight of the
goods, the number of the car in which
they have been slowed, and the signatures
Of receiving and checking clerks on it, is
now passed on to the billing department,
where the shipment is manifested to it's
destination. A car of freight, before leav-
ing the station at which it is loaded, is
sealed with the seal of that station, and
that seal must be found intact when the
car reaches its destination. AS it is passed
on from one conductor to another he is
supposed to examine each car, and if any
~ L.
car was received, and call the attention of
the agent or conductor from whom he re-
ceived it to its condition.
There is another system known as the
blind check, the duplicate or written de-
scription of the goods and directions as to
route, ETC., being furnished by the shipper,
passing from the hands of the receiving
clerk and inspector to the billing office,
and never being seen by the checker. The
latter is furnished with a book, and as the
goods are brought before him for stowage
in the cars note is taken of the address
and weight of the package, and an estimate
made as to contents. This book is sent to
the billing office, the duplicate and it are
compared, and from the two manifest is
made.
Promotion is exceedingly slow among
railroad clerks. A smart checker or re-
ceiving clerk is generally wanted in that
situation by his principal, and will be
kept in it indefinitely. He brings credit
to his principal as being the possessor and
selector of a good, efficient staff. Some
times it happens that mans merit is
recognized, but is more frequently so by
the agents of another road than by those
of the one for which he is working. He
gets liberal increase in salary, and
should his new post warrant it, he, as a
rule, entices the desirable men among his
old associates to follow him, leaving his
old chiefs embarrassed by their loss and
in, breaking in and teaching of new men.
New York Sun.